Various systems have been developed over the years to fill or discharge gas or liquid cylinders. As these became more and more complex, there developed a tendency to place various parts of the systems in positions remote to the actual storage cylinders themselves. In some cases certain advantages were realized, but often at the cost of more extensive wiring and piping which in some cases gives rise to safety problems
The physical arrangement of the various systems has also been a factor tending to disperse the system
The prior art includes many such systems, including the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,637, Carsten; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,313 to Peterson, et al.; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,609 to Smith; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,007 to Bajka; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,949 to Fukamachi; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,514 to Marks; and PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,416 to Scholl, et al. PA1 The first group is bulk shipping containers, tanker trucks, rail cars barges and large stationary vessels; and PA1 The second group consists of two groups of containers which may be transportable to a specific application site. These are in general "cylinders" in the 50-150 pound range and "ton" containers containing as the name implies or the order of 2000 pounds of materials.
The above-noted Carsten patent is a good example of one such system. The Carsten system is extensive in its undertakings and complex in its details. However, Carsten has several shortcomings. In particular, in situations where a chlorinator is already mounted on a cylinder, it is necessary to remove the chlorinator and arrange for its mounting on a wall in order to employ the Carsten unit. This requirement gives rise to added piping, wiring, expense and may give rise to safety concerns.
The present invention relates to the field of valve actuation and to systems for use with pressurized fluid containers. It is often desirable to be able to shut-off automatically, under certain prescribed or predetermined conditions, a fluid flow control valve that is normally actuated manually.
Many chemicals such as chlorine, sulfur dioxide, ammonia and the like may be hazardous or toxic materials, at least under certain circumstances and by certain definitions. Many of these materials are widely distributed in pressurized containers for use in water purification, sewage treatment, and a variety of industrial, medical, and agricultural uses and applications.
These materials and operations involving them may be closely regulated by Federal, State and local governmental agencies.
The valves used in filling and dispensing these materials are generally designed to be operated manually. The containers are themselves typically left unattended for long periods of time during which they may be subject to a wide range of conditions and problems. If there is any leakage it may not be possible to approach the containers without protective measures, breathing apparatus and protective clothing.
It is therefore very desirable to have some means of closing such valves from a remote position or automatically in response to the leak or other malfunction. Such considerations may be particularly applicable to such operations as small water treatment sites which may employ pressurized chlorine cylinders as they often are not regularly staffed by skilled personnel and, at the same time, may be located in or near residential neighborhoods in which a toxic leak may be a serious matter.
Approved containers for the storage and distribution of toxic chemicals such as chlorine fall into two broad categories based on capacity:
A factor in the present design is that in some cases, an actuator or chlorination unit may already be in place on a cylinder. Additionally, in other cases some elements such as a vacuum regulator, a flow meter or an ejector may be in place. In these circumstances only a fraction of an inch clearance may be available to engage the valve stem, typically 3/4 inch. The present invention has been made with these problems in mind and provides for engagement of the valve stem with only 3/4 inch clearance.
The present invention also provides for an onboard leak detector, which will close the valve in the case of a leak. Many systems employs vacuum system which is intended to cause air to enter the system instead of the gas leaking to the atmosphere, but not all leaks in all places will be controlled by this system and the leak detection system may still serve a valuable function, even in connection with a vacuum system.
The present invention also has the advantage of minimizing the possible leaks in change over in that the "new" cylinder need not be opened until the time of its actual use or some limited stand-by period as may be desired in any particular circumstances.
The present invention overcomes several of the problems and disadvantages of the prior art as described above by making it possible to carry the actuator and its console on the cylinder.
It is an object of the present invention to mount the actuator and its control console on or in close physical proximity to the cylinder itself.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system of increased safety and control.